Each time I cook chicken breasts, we seem to have one or two left over. If I think someone will eat one for lunch I put it in a container in the fridge, but if it was a rather plain baked chicken I just chop it in bite size pieces and stick it in a freezer bag in the big freezer. When I have accumulated enough for however many of us are eating on any given night I defrost them and try some concoction using whatever I have readily available. Sometimes it works well and other times we eat it with the codicil that I will NEVER try it that way again.
To be honest I do not remember the day we ate this dish. It was several weeks ago and was for no particular occasion other than I had food on hand and just sort of threw things together until I had something that looked and smelled decent. As it turned out it was more than decent, in fact it was pretty darn tasty. I am unsure what to call it so if you can think of a particularly clever name please let me know.
Chicken in Cajun Cream Sauce over Pasta
1 tablespoon oil ( I used sunflower but use whatever you like)
1 onion sliced very thin
1 small red pepper sliced thin
1-1 1/2 pounds cooked chicken cut in small pieces
1 1/2 cups chicken broth (divided 1/2 and 1 cup)
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning ( any brand will do)
1/2 teaspoon paprika ( the sauce needed more color but I did not want more cajun seasoning)
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
3 tablespoons sour cream
enough cooked pasta for four servings
In a medium saucepan saute' the onion and red pepper in 1 tablespoon oil until it wilts. Add the chicken and mix with the vegetables, add 1/2 cup chicken broth, Cajun seasoning and paprika and stir well. Heat until the chicken is hot throughout. Remove from heat. In a large skillet melt the butter and stir in the flour to cook like a roux, but do not brown it. Add the remaining chicken broth whisking it until the sauce is smooth and bubbly. Stir in the sour cream until it is well blended. Pour the chicken mixture into the pan and stir to incorporate everything. Serve piping hot over cooked and drained pasta. ( I used spaghetti because I had it on hand. Any pasta that will hold a heavy sauce would be great to use. When I make it again, I will use rigatoni or penne since they are a little more substantial.
) If you fell like you need a bit more color sprinkle with paprika and some chopped fresh parsley. I did not have any parsley and it would have been nicer visually.
This was a gigantic hit at our house and everyone wants it in the rotation. We seem to eat the same things again and again. ( I get tired of the same foods over and over so maybe this will break up the everyday boredom)
As an aside, I have been looking at our over abundance of food items we have in the pantry and freezer and have decided the entire month of April will be a grocery free month. I will cook only what I have on hand and will not purchase anything except milk, bread, fruit and lettuce. (I will only buy fruit after we have exhausted our canned pineapple and fruit cocktail though).
I thought briefly about making all of our bread and I might make some, or not. That really does depend on my mood since I don't like to bake bread. So, as of 36 minutes ago I will not be in Publix, The Pig or Aldi until May. I am hoping we will make a big dent in our food inventory, especially in the freezer.
Come along on our journey and I will try to post at least weekly what we ate and more importantly what we used. FIngers crossed that this works!
